George Kennedy
1925-02-18 ( 100 years old ) in New York City, New York, USA

George Kennedy (February 18, 1925 — February 28, 2016) was an American actor. A World War II veteran, Kennedy at one stage in his career cornered the market at playing tough, no-nonsense characters who were either quite crooked or possessed hearts of gold. Kennedy notched up an impressive 200+ appearances in both TV and film, and was well respected within the Hollywood community. He started out in TV westerns in the late 1950s and early 1960s: Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Rawhide (1959), Maverick (1957), Colt .45 (1957), among others; before scoring minor roles in films including Lonely Are the Brave (1962), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). The late 1960s was a very busy period for Kennedy, and he was strongly in favor with casting agents, appearing in Hurry Sundown (1967), The Dirty Dozen (1967) and scoring an Oscar win as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Cool Hand Luke (1967). The disaster film boom of the 1970s was kind to Kennedy, too, and his talents were in demand for Airport(1970) and the three subsequent sequels, as a grizzled cop in Earthquake (1974), plus the buddy/road film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) as vicious bank robber Red Leary. The 1980s saw Kennedy appear in a mishmash of roles, playing various characters; however, Kennedy and Leslie Nielsen surprised everyone with their comedic talents in the hugely successful The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), and the two screen veterans hammed it up again in, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), plus Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994). Kennedy remained busy in Hollywood and lent his distinctive voice to the animated Cats Don't Dance (1997) and the children's action film Small Soldiers (1998). A Hollywood stalwart for nearly 50 years, he is one of the most enjoyable actors to watch on screen. His last role was in the film The Gambler (2014), as Mark Wahlberg's character's grandfather. George Kennedy died on February 28, 2016 in Middleton, Idaho.

Movies

The Gambler 2014-12-25
Three Bad Men 2005-01-15
Truce 2005-01-01
Monster Makers 2003-10-26
Men in White 1998-08-16
Small Soldiers 1998-07-10
Hollyweird 1998-01-01
Intensive Care 1991-10-31
Hangfire 1991-01-11
Hired to Kill 1990-11-10
Brain Dead 1990-01-16
Esmeralda Bay 1989-05-18
Uninvited 1988-08-24
Top Line 1988-08-16
Demonwarp 1988-03-01
Counterforce 1988-02-05
Born to Race 1988-01-29
Creepshow 2 1987-05-01
Liberty 1986-06-23
Savage Dawn 1986-05-22
Rigged 1985-05-15
Half Nelson 1985-03-24
Rare Breed 1984-10-10
Bolero 1984-08-31
Wacko 1982-11-12
Modern Romance 1981-03-13
Hotwire 1980-09-01
Virus 1980-06-26
Death Ship 1980-03-07
Steel 1979-10-21
Brass Target 1978-12-22
Mean Dog Blues 1978-03-03
Airport '77 1977-03-11
Earthquake 1974-11-15
Airport 1975 1974-10-18
Sonic Boom 1974-01-01
Lost Horizon 1973-03-14
Fools' Parade 1971-08-18
Zig Zag 1970-05-01
Airport 1970-03-25
Gaily, Gaily 1969-12-16
Bandolero! 1968-06-01
Cool Hand Luke 1967-11-01
Hurry Sundown 1967-02-09
Mirage 1965-10-29
Shenandoah 1965-06-03
In Harm's Way 1965-04-06
McHale's Navy 1964-06-25
Strait-Jacket 1964-01-19
Charade 1963-12-01